In this week's New Statesman: Why we need a hung parliament

This week's New Statesman features an exclusive essay by Anthony Barnett, co-founder of Charter 88, on the future of the left and the possibility of a hung parliament. In a fierce polemic, Barnett argues that the liberal left has a duty to remove New Labour from power but also to prevent David Cameron winning a majority. He suggests we need a hung parliament in order to renew our politics.

But, in the first of a series of replies to the piece, David Marquand rejects Barnett's argument and accuses him of preferring a minority Cameron government to any sort of Labour administration.

Elsewhere, our political correspondent, James Macintyre, reports from inside the Lib Dem camp and looks at which way the party would turn in the event of a hung parliament.

In the columns, Andrew Stephen warns that we must prepare for President Cheney; David Blanchflower says there's no need to worry about inflation; and Mehdi Hasan explains why he could never hate America.

In The Critics, Tim Adams explores our obsession with all things Tudor; John Gray reviews a history of the early anarchist movement; Ryan Gilbey is impressed by a new film on Cuban boxing; and Leo Robson gives his verdict on Ian McEwan's latest novel, Solar.